Pereira grew up in a favela, dropping out of middle school to work in manual labor.
He battled drinking issues, which led him to begin kickboxing training in 2009 to overcome his issues.
Pereira won the Glory 14: Zagreb – Middleweight Contender Tournament in 2014.
Despite a loss in the quarter-finals, he competed in the Glory 17: Los Angeles – Last Man Standing middleweight tournament.
Pereira secured the vacant WGP Middleweight title and notably defeated Israel Adesanya twice.
He became the Glory Middleweight champion by defeating Simon Marcus at Glory 46: China.
Pereira also claimed the interim Glory Light Heavyweight Championship, making him the first double champion in Glory history.
He won the Glory Light Heavyweight title by defeating Artem Vakhitov at Glory 77.
However, Pereira lost the rematch against Vakhitov at Glory 78: Rotterdam.
Pereira debuted in MMA in 2015 at Jungle Fight 82.
Win by knockout”
8kg equates to roughly 17 pounds.
it was a special day in the history of Brazilian kickboxing, the first and only kickboxer in the world to win two belts in different categories
He joined the UFC in 2021, winning his debut at UFC 268 against Andreas Michailidis.
Pereira claimed the UFC Middleweight Championship by defeating Israel Adesanya at UFC 281.
He rematched Adesanya and lost the title later on.
Transitioning to the Light Heavyweight division, he won the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against Jiřà Procházka at UFC 295.
He successfully defended the UFC Light Heavyweight title against Jamahal Hill at UFC 300.
